A bad repeat - "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump" a nightmarish groundhog day
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/opinion/before-donald-trump-gov-paul-lepage-of-maine.html
...if the movie "Groundhog Day" were a horror flick, this is what the plot would include....
In my Maine Writer opinion, this archived echo "letter to the editor", (scroll down) published in the New York Times on August 31, 2016, was a dire premonition that became a nightmarish reality. Maine citizens, like me, fell victim to the wrong minded idea that Governor Paul LePage would never be able to become the governor of the state where Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Senator George Mitchell and Governor Muskie had been iconic leaders.
Now, here we are in another "groundhog day" nightmare kind of year and the story is seriously not fiction. This letter, published in 2016, can too easily apply to 2020. Indeed, the premonition warnings of 2016 must resurface!
Re "How Controversial Is Maine's Governor? Here's a Partial List" (by Jess Bidgood) (news article, Aug. 30):
So how did Maine, known for bipartisanship and civility in civic life, twice put Gov. Paul LePage in office? Here is a partial list.
A third-party candidate, Eliot Cutler, who twice (in 2010 and 2014) convinced a significant portion of the electorate that "voting their conscience" could flip the election in his favor. Some people never learn.
Republican leaders and voters who, putting party loyalty above common sense, reliably worked to put a good face on Mr. LePage's bad behavior. Some people should know better.
Columnists and commentators who were so amused by Mr. LePage's style that they failed to take seriously the threat he posed and the damage he was doing. Some people were not paying attention.
Does this perfect storm of self-indulgence and media and public complicity sound familiar? Our term-limited governor has said, "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," and I heard him say in a call-in show that he'd be interested in a Washington appointment with a golden parachute. Watch out, America, Paul LePage - and a dangerous repeat- may be coming your way.
Annlinn Kruger Bar Harbor, Maine
In my Maine Writer opinion, this archived echo "letter to the editor", (scroll down) published in the New York Times on August 31, 2016, was a dire premonition that became a nightmarish reality. Maine citizens, like me, fell victim to the wrong minded idea that Governor Paul LePage would never be able to become the governor of the state where Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Senator George Mitchell and Governor Muskie had been iconic leaders.
Now, here we are in another "groundhog day" nightmare kind of year and the story is seriously not fiction. This letter, published in 2016, can too easily apply to 2020. Indeed, the premonition warnings of 2016 must resurface!
If it can happen in Maine, and it did....a nightmarish embarrassment after eight years....it can happen to Americans.
"As Maine goes" (so goes the nation?) is too horrendous a concept to fathom, but we must acknowledge this possibility or, like those who ignore history, it will infect us again. Unbelievably, Governor Paul LePage wants to run again to reclaim the office where he was term limited out. It's hard to understand this egotistic political behavior, especially when the current attitudes towards Republican Susan Collins and her cohort Donald Trump are ambiguous at best, and disdained by a growing number of Mainers.
"As Maine goes" (so goes the nation?) is too horrendous a concept to fathom, but we must acknowledge this possibility or, like those who ignore history, it will infect us again. Unbelievably, Governor Paul LePage wants to run again to reclaim the office where he was term limited out. It's hard to understand this egotistic political behavior, especially when the current attitudes towards Republican Susan Collins and her cohort Donald Trump are ambiguous at best, and disdained by a growing number of Mainers.
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| Governor Paul LePage survived wave after wave of controversies. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press photo) |
A prophesy to be aware of: To the Editor of the New York Times:
Re "How Controversial Is Maine's Governor? Here's a Partial List" (by Jess Bidgood) (news article, Aug. 30):
So how did Maine, known for bipartisanship and civility in civic life, twice put Gov. Paul LePage in office? Here is a partial list.
A third-party candidate, Eliot Cutler, who twice (in 2010 and 2014) convinced a significant portion of the electorate that "voting their conscience" could flip the election in his favor. Some people never learn.
Republican leaders and voters who, putting party loyalty above common sense, reliably worked to put a good face on Mr. LePage's bad behavior. Some people should know better.
Columnists and commentators who were so amused by Mr. LePage's style that they failed to take seriously the threat he posed and the damage he was doing. Some people were not paying attention.
Does this perfect storm of self-indulgence and media and public complicity sound familiar? Our term-limited governor has said, "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," and I heard him say in a call-in show that he'd be interested in a Washington appointment with a golden parachute. Watch out, America, Paul LePage - and a dangerous repeat- may be coming your way.
Annlinn Kruger Bar Harbor, Maine
P.S. Maine Writer - Thank you Annlinn Kruger!
Labels: Ann Kruger, Bar Harbor Maine, Governor Paul LePage, Jess Bidgood, The New York Times
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 1:41 PM
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